Irina Pogorelaya20:24, 01.06.25
It is possible that some of the Russian aircraft are not completely destroyed and can be repaired, but in any case, this at least puts them out of action for a long time.
SBU drone strikes on military airfields will cause significant damage to Russia’s ability to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities .
This leaves Russia’s key military assets vulnerable, BBC weapons analyst Chris Partridge noted. He noted that the Tu-95 bombers, which the SBU said were among those destroyed, carried out the largest attack on Ukraine earlier this year with Kh-101 missiles.
In general, it is these bombers that the Russians have been widely using since the very beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and therefore are a key target for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Partridge emphasized that the range of the missiles fired by the Tu-95 is thousands of kilometers, which allows these bombers to operate in the relatively safe Russian airspace.
But no less significant, as the observer noted, is the loss of the A-50, whose task is to detect enemy aircraft and missiles and transmit data about them to Russian fighters for destruction.
“As for the strikes themselves, the use of drones so close to targets means that traditional Russian self-defense systems, such as the long-range S-300/S-400 air defense systems, and even their shorter-range counterparts, such as the Pantsir-S1, are ineffective,” the observer noted.
This, Partridge added, also meant that there was no timely warning of the attack to allow the planes to be diverted:
It is possible that some of the Russian aircraft are not completely destroyed and can be repaired, but in any case, this at least puts them out of action for a long time. Even more worrying for Moscow is that this again highlights the vulnerability of major military installations located on Russian territory.”
Attack on Russian airfields
SBU drones hit 41 Russian aircraft, the special operation was prepared for more than a year and a half . President Volodymyr Zelensky personally supervised the operation.
In terms of economic efficiency, Ukraine’s operation has no equal. Thus, if one Ukrainian FPV drone can cost only $300-$600, then, for example, a modernized Russian strategic bomber Tu-95MS costs more than $100 million.
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